Masayuki Kusano

Engineering, expression, purification, and production of recombinant thermolysin

Thermolysin [EC 3.4.24.27] is a thermostable neutral zinc metalloproteinase originally identified in the culture broth of Bacillus thermoproteolyticus Rokko. Since the discovery in 1962, the enzyme has been extensively studied regarding its structure and catalytic mechanism. Today, thermolysin is a representative of zinc metalloproteinase and an attractive target in protein engineering to understand the catalytic mechanism, thermostability, and halophilicity. Thermolysin is used in industry, especially for the enzymatic synthesis of N-carbobenzoxy L-Asp-L-Phe methyl ester (ZDFM), a precursor of an artificial sweetener, aspartame. Generation of genetically engineered thermolysin with higher activity in the synthesis of ZDFM has been highly desired. In accordance with the expansion of studies on thermolysin, various strategies for its expression and purification have been devised and successfully used. In this review, we aim to outline recombinant thermolysins associated with their engineering, expression, purification, and production.

Effects of the mutational combinations on the activity and stability of thermolysin

We have previously indicated that three single mutations (Leu144-->Ser, Asp150-->Glu, and Ile168-->Ala) in the site-directed mutagenesis of thermolysin increase the activity and two single (Ser53-->Asp and Leu155-->Ala) and one triple (Gly8-->Cys/Asn60-->Cys/Ser65-->Pro) mutations increase the stability. In the present study, aiming to generate highly active and stable thermolysin variants, we combined these mutations and analyzed the effect of combinations on the activity and stability of thermolysin. The combination of the mutations of Leu144-->Ser and Asp150-->Glu yielded the most significant increase in the hydrolytic activities for N-[3-(2-furyl)acryloyl]-Gly-L-Leu amide (FAGLA) and N-carbobenzoxy-L-Asp-L-Phe methyl ester (ZDFM), while that of Leu144-->Ser and Ile168-->Ala abolished the activity. The combination of Ser53-->Asp and Leu155-->Ala yielded the greatest increase in the thermal stability, while that of Ser53-->Asp and Gly8-->Cys/Asn60-->Cys/Ser65-->Pro increased the stability as high as the individual mutations do. The combination of three mutations of Leu144-->Ser, Asp150-->Glu, and Ser53-->Asp yielded a variant L144S/D150E/S53D with improved activity and stability. Its k(cat)/K(m) values in the hydrolysis of FAGLA and ZDFM were 8.6 and 10.2 times higher than those of wild-type thermolysin (WT), respectively, and its rate constant for thermal inactivation at 80 degrees C was 60% of that of WT.

Insights into the catalytic roles of the polypeptide regions in the active site of thermolysin and generation of the thermolysin variants with high activity and stability.

The active site of thermolysin is composed of one zinc ion and five polypeptide regions [N-terminal sheet (Asn112-Trp115), alpha-helix 1 (Val139-Thr149), C-terminal loop 1 (Asp150-Gly162), alpha-helix 2 (Ala163-Val176) and C-terminal loop 2 (Gln225-Ser234)]. To explore their catalytic roles, we introduced single amino-acid substitutions into these regions by site-directed mutagenesis and examined their effects on the activity and stability. Seventy variants, in which one of the twelve residues (Ala113, Phe114, Trp115, Asp150, Tyr157, Gly162, Ile168, Ser169, Asp170, Asn227, Val230 and Ser234) was replaced, were produced in Escherichia coli. The hydrolytic activities of thermolysin for N-[3-(2-furyl)acryloyl]-Gly-l-Leu amide (FAGLA) and casein revealed that the N-terminal sheet and alpha-helix 2 were critical in catalysis and the C-terminal loops 1 and 2 were in substrate recognition. Twelve variants were active for both substrates. In the hydrolysis of FAGLA and N-carbobenzoxy-L-Asp-L-Phe methyl ester, the k(cat)/K(m) values of the D150E (in which Asp150 is replaced with Glu) and I168A variants were 2-3 times higher than those of the wild-type (WT) enzyme. Thermal inactivation of thermolysin at 80 degrees C was greatly suppressed with the D150H, D150W, I168A, I168H, N227A, N227H and S234A. The evidence might provide the insights into the activation and stabilization of thermolysin.

A novel hemiacetal dehydrogenase activity involved in ethyl acetate synthesis in Candida utilis.

Acetate ester synthesis was studied in vitro with the ethyl acetate-producing yeast Candida utilis. The level of enzyme activity observed for the NAD+-dependent hemiacetal dehydrogenase acting on hemiacetal, which was produced non-enzymatically from an alcohol and an aldehyde, was much greater than that for the other enzyme involved in ester synthesis, alcohol acetyltransferase. The level of ethyl acetate synthesis in vivo approximately paralleled the hemiacetal dehydrogenase (HADH) activity. The results suggest that the main pathway for ethyl acetate synthesis in C. utilis involves a novel hemiacetal dehydrogenase activity.

Improvement in Performance of Affinity Gels Containing Gly- D -Phe as a Ligand to Thermolysin Due to Increasing the Spacer Chain Length

The aim of this study was to improve the performance of affinity gels containing glycyl-D-phenylalanine (Gly-D-Phe) as a ligand to thermolysin. Gly-D-Phe was immobilized to the resin through spacers of varying chain lengths. The resulting affinity gels had spacer chain lengths of 2 carbon atoms and 11 and 13 carbon-and-oxygen atoms (designated T2, T11, and T13), and were characterized for their binding abilities to thermolysin. Measurement of adsorption isotherms showed that the association constants to thermolysin were in the order T13 > T11 > T2. In affinity column chromatography, in which 5 mg thermolysin was applied onto 1-ml volumes of the gels, the adsorption ratios of thermolysin were also in the order T13 > T11 > T2. These results indicate that the performance of affinity gels is improved by increasing the spacer chain length to 13 carbon-and-oxygen atoms.